Washington (AFP) – International tensions over anti-Semitism erupted Thursday after two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead at a Jewish museum in Washington by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested. Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country’s stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming “a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”
“This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe,” he said. French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation “completely outrageous and completely unjustified.” The killings took place just outside the Capital Jewish Museum late Wednesday as the venue, a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the White House, hosted a social event for young professionals and diplomatic staff.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited “the terrible price of anti-Semitism” and decried “wild incitement against the State of Israel.” Soon after the shooting, President Donald Trump — who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday — posted on social media that the attack was clearly anti-Semitic and such killings had to stop. Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple planning to marry. Police detained the shooter, 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, at the scene.
– ‘Free Palestine’ – Video footage on social media showed a bearded man in a jacket and white shirt shouting “free, free Palestine” as he was led away. Rodriguez was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials and firearms offenses, a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Washington showed. The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel’s devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Tensions have risen in the United States and many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, with pro-Palestinian activists decrying what they say is the intolerable human cost of the military offensive. Britain and France — who have stepped up their criticism of Israel’s actions — were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But Netanyahu on Thursday accused France, Britain and Canada of emboldening militants, saying “they want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7 massacre.”
“They think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not,” he said in a video.
– ‘Anti-Semitism, I feel it every day’ – On Thursday, mourners gathered at the museum in Washington to sing and pray. “We have to find a better way to a better future for Israelis, for Palestinians, for American Jews, for Muslims, for all of us,” said Hadar Susskind, head of the progressive New Jewish Narrative group. “Obviously the war is awful,” mourner Gil Livni told AFP. “(But) anti-Semitism, I feel it every day… people that I thought were my friends showing that they are anti-Semitic. It’s become the norm.”
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter told reporters at the scene Thursday that he rejected any “insinuation that anti-Semitism is rising because of Israel’s defense of its country. Hamas declared war, Israel is responding.” Witnesses said security personnel appeared at first to mistake the gunman for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was initially comforted by bystanders. “They sat him down. ‘Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?’ And he’s like ‘Somebody call the cops’,” Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media.
Police said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting around 9:00 pm (0100 GMT Thursday). The targeted event was an annual reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community. Lischinsky was a researcher at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Lischinsky was Christian, according to The Times of Israel, for whom he had previously worked as a blogger. He also held a German passport.
© 2024 AFP
